While the road to Commonwealth Games is riddled with potholes,the Delhi government seems to have woken up to some of this mindless digging. In a recent communication,Principal Secretary to Chief Minister P K Tripathi has noted that all civic agencies should inform each other of projects undertaken by them in the beginning of the year itself to reduce confusion. The letter comes after several complaints were received by the Chief Ministers Office about newly laid pavements being dug up for repaving,leading to a hole in the state exchequer. Tripathi noted in his letter that electric cables and other services are being affected by street-scaping project at various places in the Capital. Tripathi had held a meeting recently to convey the message to all civic agencies involved in road-related projects. In his letter,Tripathi blamed the chaos on the lack of coordination between different departments,and that this was resulting in wastage of time as well as taxpayers money. There are instances where a freshly laid pavement is dug up again for work by some other agencies to lay a pipeline or cable, he wrote. Suggesting a way to solve the problem,Tripathi said the departments should prepare their plans in advance and notify them a year in advance. Significantly,the pavement at ITO,near the Delhi Secretariat,has been dug up at least twice and replaced by different tiles in recent months. Work on the median is also going on in front of the Secretariat. Several residents welfare associations also raised these issues in Bhagidari meetings. Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta has reprimanded the civic agencies undertaking these street-scaping projects. A senior Delhi government official said,We have been told that rubble from all construction sites should be removed within two months. While the Public Works Department is spending more than Rs 550 crore on street-scaping,NDMC and MCD are collectively spending about Rs 150 crore. Men at work: streetscaping chaos on five stretchesKishan Ghat to Ash Pond Karni Singh Shooting Range Siri Fort Road Roads near Indira Gandhi Complex Delhi University to Chattarsal Stadium Beautifying city streets: the costPWD working on projects worth Rs 550 crore NDMC and MCD collectively spending Rs 150 crore
